Professor Mariapia Degli-Esposti

Professor Mariapia Degli-Esposti

“achieved international recognition as a viral immunologist with her research in the interactions between innate and adaptive immune responses.”

Biography

Professor Mariapia Degli-Esposti (PhD) is a NHMRC Principal Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia and heads the Experimental Immunology Group at the Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Professor Degli-Esposti is also the Head of the Immunology Division and was appointed Head of Research at the Lions Eye Institute in 2009. She has achieved international recognition as a viral immunologist with her research in the interactions between innate and adaptive immune responses being widely cited.

The focus of her research has been to understand the regulation of complex immune responses, especially those involved in autoimmunity, infection and tumour control. Her laboratory continues to pursue an interest in understanding mechanisms of immune regulation using viral infection as a model. Her research has been instrumental in defining novel interactions between dendritic cells and natural killer (NK) cells and how these affect both innate and adaptive anti-viral responses. She also initiated a new program of ocular immunology focusing on infection in the eye. Her expertise has been critical in defining the immunological impact of novel therapies using viral vectors to deliver agents to the eye to ameliorate conditions such as macular degeneration. Some of these therapies are in phase I clinical trials at LEI.

Languages Spoken

English

Education

1992 PhD - awarded with special commendation for outstanding distinction, Department of Pathology, University of Western Australia
1987 Bachelor of Science with Honours (First Class) Honours in Pathology, University of Western Australia